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The Lord of the Rings is a film series of three epicfantasyadventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel written by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (), The Two Towers () and The Return of the King (). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, it is an international venture between New Zealand and the United States. The films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean.

Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the hobbitFrodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Fellowship eventually splits up and Frodo continues the quest with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum. Meanwhile, Aragorn, heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, along with Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Merry, Pippin and the wizardGandalf, unite to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in the War of the Ring in order to aid Frodo by distracting Sauron's attention.

The three films were shot simultaneously and entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand from 11 October until 22 December , with pick-up shots done from to It was one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, with a budget of $&#;million. The first film in the series premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 10 December ; the second film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on 5 December ; the third film premiered at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington on 1 December An extended edition of each film was released on home video a year after its theatrical release.

The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential film series ever made. It was a major financial success and is among the highest-grossing film series of all time with $&#;billion in worldwide receipts. Each film was critically acclaimed and heavily awarded, the series winning 17 out of its 30 Academy Award nominations.

Films[edit]

The Fellowship of the Ring[edit]

In the Second Age of Middle-earth, the lords of Elves, Dwarves, and Men are given Rings of Power. Unbeknownst to them, the Dark Lord Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom, instilling into it a great part of his power, in order to dominate the other Rings so he might conquer Middle-earth. A final alliance of Men and Elves battles Sauron's forces in Mordor. Isildur of Gondor severs Sauron's finger and the Ring with it, thereby destroying his physical form. With Sauron's first defeat, the Third Age of Middle-earth begins. The Ring's influence corrupts Isildur, who takes it for himself. Isildur is later killed by Orcs and the Ring is lost in a river for 2, years until it is found by Gollum, who owns it for five centuries. The Ring is then found by a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who is unaware of its history.

Sixty years later, Bilbo celebrates his th birthday in the Shire, reuniting with his old friend, the wizard Gandalf the Grey. Bilbo reveals that he intends to leave the Shire for one last adventure, and he leaves his inheritance, including the Ring, to his nephew Frodo. Gandalf investigates the Ring, discovers its true nature, and learns that Gollum was captured and tortured by Sauron's Orcs, revealing two words during his interrogation: "Shire" and "Baggins." Gandalf returns and warns Frodo to leave the Shire. As Frodo departs with his friend, gardener Samwise Gamgee, Gandalf rides to Isengard to meet with the wizard Saruman, but learns that he has joined forces with Sauron, who has dispatched his nine undead Nazgûl servants to find Frodo.

Frodo and Sam are joined by fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin, and they evade the Nazgûl before arriving in Bree, where they are meant to meet Gandalf. However, Gandalf never arrives, having been taken prisoner by Saruman. The hobbits are then aided by a Ranger named Strider, who promises to escort them to Rivendell; however, they are ambushed by the Nazgûl on Weathertop, and their leader, the Witch-King, stabs Frodo with a Morgul blade. Arwen, an elf and Strider's betrothed, locates Aragorn and rescues Frodo, summoning flood-waters that sweep the Nazgûl away. She takes him to Rivendell, where he is healed by the elves. Frodo meets with Gandalf, who escaped Isengard with help from Gwaihir the Great Eagle by asking for him with a moth. That night, Strider reunites with Arwen, and they confirm their love for each other. Arwen's father, Lord Elrond, holds a council that decides the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, accompanied by Gandalf, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Elf Legolas, Dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor, and Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir and the rightful King of Gondor. Collectively, they are known as the Fellowship Of The Ring. Bilbo, now living in Rivendell, gives Frodo his sword, Sting.

The Fellowship of the Ring sets off over the mountain Caradhras, intending to use the pass of Caradhras, but Saruman summons a storm that forces them to travel through the Mines of Moria. After finding all of the Dwarves of Moria have been slain, the Fellowship is attacked by Orcs and a cave troll. They hold them off but are confronted by Durin's Bane, a Balrog residing within the mines. Gandalf casts the Balrog into a vast chasm, after shouting "YOU SHALL NOT PASS", but it drags him down into the darkness. The devastated Fellowship reaches Lothlórien, ruled by the Elf-queen Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. Galadriel privately informs Frodo that only he can complete the quest and that one of his friends in the Fellowship will try to take the Ring. Meanwhile, Saruman creates an army of Uruk-hai in Isengard to track down and kill the Fellowship.

The Fellowship travels by river to Parth Galen. Frodo wanders off and is confronted by Boromir, who tries to take the Ring as Lady Galadriel had predicted. The Fellowship is then ambushed by the Uruk-hai. Merry and Pippin are taken captive, and Boromir is mortally wounded by the Uruk chieftain, Lurtz. Aragorn arrives, slays Lurtz, and watches Boromir die. Afraid of the Ring corrupting his friends, Frodo decides to travel to Mordor alone, but then reconsiders by allowing Sam to come after hearing his promise from Gandalf. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli decide to rescue Merry and Pippin after finding them missing.

The Two Towers[edit]

Awakening from a dream of Gandalf fighting the Balrog in Moria, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee find themselves lost in the Emyn Muil near Mordor and discover they are being tracked by Gollum, a former bearer of the One Ring. Capturing Gollum, Frodo takes pity and allows him to guide them, reminding Sam that they will need Gollum's help to infiltrate Mordor.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue a band of Uruk-hai to save their companions Merry and Pippin, entering the kingdom of Rohan. The Uruk-hai are ambushed by a group of Rohirrim, allowing the Hobbits to escape into Fangorn Forest. Meeting Aragorn's group, the Rohirrim’s leader Éomer explains that he and his men have been exiled by Rohan's king, Théoden, who is under the control of Saruman and his servant Gríma Wormtongue. Éomer believes Merry and Pippin were killed during the raid, but leaves the group two horses. Searching for the Hobbits in Fangorn, Aragorn's group encounters Gandalf, who reveals that after his fight against the Balrog he was resurrected as Gandalf the White to help save Middle-earth.

Gandalf leads the trio to Rohan's capital, Edoras, where Gandalf frees Théoden from Saruman's control. Aragorn stops Théoden from executing Wormtongue, who flees. Learning of Saruman's plans to destroy Rohan with his Uruk-hai army, Théoden evacuates his citizens to the fortress of Helm's Deep. Gandalf departs to find Éomer and his followers, hoping they will fight for their restored king. Aragorn befriends Théoden's niece, Éowyn, who becomes infatuated with him. When the refugees travelling to Helm's Deep are attacked by Saruman’s Warg-riding Orcs, Aragorn falls from a cliff and is presumed dead. He is revealed to have survived and rides to Helm's Deep, witnessing Saruman's army marching to the fortress.

In Rivendell, Arwen is told by her father Elrond that Aragorn will not return. He reminds her that if she remains in Middle-earth, she will outlive Aragorn by thousands of years, and she reluctantly departs for Valinor. Elrond is contacted by Galadriel of Lothlórien, who convinces him that the elves should honor their alliance to men, and they dispatch an army of elves to Helm's Deep.

In Fangorn, Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard, an Ent. Convincing Treebeard that they are allies, they are brought to an Ent Council, where the Ents decide not to take part in the coming war. Pippin asks Treebeard to take them in the direction of Isengard, where they witness the deforestation caused by Saruman’s war effort. Enraged, Treebeard and the Ents overwhelm Isengard, trapping Saruman in his tower.

Aragorn arrives at Helm's Deep and reveals that Saruman's army is close and Théoden must prepare for battle, despite the overwhelming Uruk-hai numbers. The army of Elves from Lothlórien arrives, as does Saruman's army, and a night battle ensues. The Uruk-hai breach the outer wall with explosives and kill the elves' commander, Haldir. The defenders retreat into the keep, where Aragorn convinces Théoden to meet the Uruk-hai in one last charge. At dawn, as the defenders are overwhelmed, Gandalf and Éomer arrive with the Rohirrim, winning the battle. The surviving Uruk-hai flee into Fangorn Forest and are killed by the Ents. Gandalf warns that Sauron will retaliate.

Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through the Dead Marshes to the Black Gate, but recommends they enter Mordor by another route. Frodo and Sam are captured by Rangers of Ithilien led by Faramir, brother of the late Boromir. Frodo helps Faramir catch Gollum to save him from being killed by the Rangers. Learning of the One Ring, Faramir takes his captives to Gondor to bring the ring to his father Denethor. Passing through the besieged Gondorian city of Osgiliath, Frodo tries to explain to Faramir the true nature of the ring, and Sam explains that Boromir was driven mad by its power. A Nazgûl nearly captures Frodo, who falls under the ring's power and momentarily attacks Sam, who reminds him that they are fighting for the good still left in Middle-earth. Impressed by Frodo's resolve, Faramir releases them. Gollum decides to betray Frodo and reclaim the Ring by leading the group to "Her" upon arriving at Cirith Ungol.

The Return of the King[edit]

Two Hobbits, Sméagol and Déagol, are fishing when Déagol discovers the One Ring in the river. Sméagol is ensnared by the Ring, and kills his friend for it. He retreats into the Misty Mountains as the Ring twists his body and mind, until he becomes the creature Gollum.

Centuries later, during the War of the Ring, Gandalf leads Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and King Théoden to Isengard, where they reunite with Merry and Pippin. Gandalf retrieves the defeated Saruman's palantír. Pippin later looks into the seeing-stone and is seen by Sauron. From Pippin's description of his visions, Gandalf surmises that Sauron will attack Gondor's capital Minas Tirith. He rides there to warn Gondor's steward Denethor, taking Pippin with him.

Gollum leads Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee to Minas Morgul, where they watch the Witch-king of Angmar, leader of the nine Nazgûl, lead an army of Orcs towards Gondor. The hobbits begin climbing a stair carved in the cliff face that leads to a secret tunnel into Mordor, unaware that Gollum plans to kill them and take the Ring. The Witch-king and his forces strike and overwhelm Osgiliath, forcing Faramir and his garrison to retreat to Minas Tirith.

Gollum disposes of the Hobbits' food, blaming Sam. Believing that Sam desires the Ring, Frodo tells him to go home before he and Gollum continue to the tunnel leading to Mordor. Gollum tricks him into venturing into the lair of the giant spider Shelob. Frodo narrowly escapes and confronts Gollum, telling him that he must destroy the Ring for both their sakes. Gollum attacks Frodo but falls down a chasm. Frodo continues on, but Shelob discovers, paralyses, and binds him. Sam returns and injures Shelob, driving her away, but then hides as Orcs appear and take Frodo with them. The Orcs then fight over ownership of Frodo's mithril vest, allowing Sam to escape with Frodo and continue their journey.

As King Théoden gathers the Rohirrim army, Aragorn learns from Elrond that Arwen is dying, having refused to leave Middle Earth to be with Aragorn after seeing a vision of their future son. Arwen convinced a reluctant Elrond to order the shards of King Elendil's sword, Narsil, be reforged into Andúril so that Aragorn can reclaim his birthright and gain reinforcements from the ghostly Dead Men of Dunharrow. Joined by Legolas and Gimli, Aragorn travels to the Dead Men's lair, pledging to release them from Isildur's undead curse should they come to Gondor's aid.

Faramir is gravely wounded after a futile effort to recapture Osgiliath; believing his son to be dead, Denethor falls into madness. Gandalf is left to defend the city against the Orc army, led by Gothmog. As Gothmog's army forces its way into the city, Denethor attempts to kill himself and Faramir on a pyre. Pippin alerts Gandalf and they save Faramir, but a burning Denethor leaps to his death from the top of Minas Tirith just before Théoden and his nephew, Éomer, arrive with the Rohirrim. During the ensuing battle, they are overwhelmed by the Oliphaunt-riding Haradrim, while the Witch-King mortally wounds Théoden. Though Théoden's niece Éowyn kills the Witch-king with Merry's help, Théoden dies. Aragorn arrives with the Army of the Dead, who overcome Sauron's forces and win the battle; Aragorn then frees the Dead Men from their curse.

Aragorn decides to march upon the Black Gate as a distraction so Frodo and Sam can reach Mount Doom. Aragorn's army draws out Sauron's remaining forces and empties Mordor, allowing Frodo and Sam to reach the volcano, but Gollum attacks them just as they reach Mount Doom. As Frodo stands on the ledge over the volcanic fire, he succumbs to the Ring and claims it as his own, putting it on his finger. Gollum finds the invisible Frodo and attacks him, biting his finger off to reclaim the Ring. Frodo attacks Gollum in an attempt to reclaim the Ring, and in the ensuing struggle they both fall off the ledge. Gollum falls into the lava with the Ring and dies. Frodo clings to the side of the ledge and is rescued by Sam as the Ring disintegrates in the lava. As Frodo and Sam escape, Sauron is defeated—along with his Orcs and Nazgûl—as Mordor crumbles.

Gandalf flies in with eagles to rescue the Hobbits, who awaken in Minas Tirith and are reunited with the surviving Fellowship. Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor and takes Arwen as his queen. The Hobbits return home to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie Cotton. A few years later, Frodo departs Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with his uncle Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Elves. He leaves Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, which details their adventures. Sam returns to the Shire, where he embraces Rosie and their children. The last words of both the book and the film are the same - "Well, I'm back."

Cast and crew[edit]

Casting[edit]

Jackson began abstract discussions on casting during the development of the scripts with Miramax.^[1] Jackson, Walsh and Boyens compiled a casting wishlist, which included Cate Blanchett for Galadriel and Ian Holm for Bilbo.^[2] Jackson considered Sir Nigel Hawthorne for Gandalf, but the actor was suffering from pancreatic cancer.^[3] Wondering whether Patrick Stewart would be right for the part, Philippa Boyens drew a tape of him performing opposite Ian McKellen, only to suggest the latter to Jackson.^[4] McKellen became Jackson's first choice for Gandalf.^[5]Christopher Lee sent Jackson a photograph of him in a wizard's costume, wanting to play Gandalf,^[6] but Jackson decided he would be a perfect Saruman, instead.

Miramax wanted a recognisable name for Gandalf, and suggested Max von Sydow or Paul Scofield and, wanting an American star, even mentioned Morgan Freeman.^[1][7] When New Line took over, they suggested Christopher Plummer or Sean Connery for the part (both declined),^[8] and put a veto against Richard Harris when his name came up. When von Sydow inquired for the part later, his agent told him they were looking for an English actor.^[9]

While casting, Jackson looked for backup options for the various parts, including Lucy Lawless and Nicole Kidman for Galadriel; Anthony Hopkins or Sylvester McCoy (eventually recast as Radagast) for Bilbo; Paul Scofield, Jeremy Irons, Malcolm McDowell or Tim Curry for Saruman.^[3] For Gandalf, they looked into Tom Baker, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Neil, Bernard Hill (who was instead cast as Theoden)^[4] and Peter O'Toole,^[10] and into several older actors who auditioned for other parts like Patrick McGoohan and Anthony Hopkins.

Miramax and Jackson discussed Sir Daniel Day-Lewis for Aragorn, starting "fanciful internet speculation"^[8] that Day-Lewis was approached for the part numerous times, although Jackson eventually inquired about him. Jackson cast Stuart Townsend, whom the studio deemed too young. After shooting began, Jackson agreed and decided to recast the role. They approached Viggo Mortensen, but also spoke to Russell Crowe (who auditioned for Boromir previously), as a backup choice.^[11]

Patrick McGoohan, their first choice for Denethor, proved "quite grumpy"^[12] when they met, and they instead looked into Donald Sutherland and John Rhys-Davies, and ultimately cast John Noble. Davies was recast as Gimli, instead of Billy Connolly (later cast as Dain), Robert Trebor and Timothy Spall. In conversations with Miramax, Liam Neeson's name came up^[1] for Boromir, but he declined. Daniel Craig auditioned. New Line suggested Nicolas Cage, but the filmmakers declined^[8] and cast Sean Bean.

Cast[edit]

The following is a list of cast members who voiced or portrayed characters appearing in the extended version of the films.^[13][14][15]

Crew[edit]

Development[edit]

Previous attempts[edit]

Previous attempts to film Tolkien's works were made by William Snyder, Peter Shaffer and John Boorman. These attempts resulted in a couple of unproduced scripts, concept art and an animated short. Other filmmakers and producers to have had an interest in adapting Tolkien are said to include Walt Disney, Al Brodax, Forrest Ackerman, Denis O'Dell (who considered Richard Lester to direct, but instead approached David Lean, Stanley Kubrick and Michelangelo Antonioni) and George Lucas. The rights to adapt Tolkien's works passed through the hands of several studios, having been briefly leased to Rembrandt Films before being sold perpetually to United Artists. In , UA passed the rights to The Lord of the Rings (and a part of the rights to The Hobbit) to Fantasy Films.

In , an animated adaptation of The Hobbit was produced as a TV special by Rankin and Bass (followed in by a TV animated adaptation of The Return of the King), and in Ralph Bakshi made an animated feature of the first half of The Lord of the Rings. While profitable, the film didn't make enough money to automatically warrant the sequel which would close the story, and an argument with producer Saul Zaentz led Bakshi to abandon the project. Several Tolkien-esque fantasy films were produced at the time, as well, including Boorman's Excalibur and George Lucas' production of Willow.

At the time that Bakshi's film aired, a teenager Peter Jackson hadn't read the book, but "heard the name",^[16] and went to see the film: "I liked the early part – it had some quaint sequences in Hobbiton, a creepy encounter with the Black Rider on the road, and a few quite good battle scenes – but then, about half way through, the storytelling became very disjointed and disorientating and I really didn't understand what was going on. However, what it did do was to make me want to read the book – if only to find out what happened!"^[17] Jackson bought a tie-in paperback edition. He later read The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, and listened to the BBC radio adaptation. Assuming someone will one day adapt it to a live-action film, Jackson read on some previous attempts to bring the piece to the screen.^[18] He hadn't watched the Rankin and Bass TV Specials.^[19][20]

Pitch to Miramax[edit]

In , while completing post-production on The Frighteners, Jackson and Fran Walsh discussed making an original fantasy film, but couldn't think of a scenario that wasn't Tolkien-esque, and eventually decided to look up the film rights. They went to Harvey Weinstein from Miramax, who got the rights from Saul Zaentz. Jackson knew it would take multiple films to do Tolkien justice,^[21][22] but initially pitched a single trilogy: one film based on The Hobbit and, if that would prove successful, two Lord of the Rings films shot back-to-back.^[18] Jackson began rereading The Hobbit, looking at illustrations and commissioning concept art from the book, but the rights eventually proved unattainable, having been split between Zaentz and United Artists. Harvey tried to buy the studio's share of the rights, but was unsuccessful.

With the Hobbit postponed for a later prequel, Jackson proceeded with making two or more^[22]Lord of the Rings films: "We pitched the idea of three films and Miramax didn't really want to take that risk, but we agreed on two."^[21] He began writing the scripts with Walsh and Stephen Sinclair, storyboard with Christian Rivers and discussing casting ideas with the Weinsteins. Meanwhile Weta Digital began software development for the digital effects required,^[21] and WETA Workshop were producing props and concept art. Sinclair later dropped from the project, but Jackson felt that some of his contributions survived into the finished scripts, particularly the middle film, The Two Towers, for which he is credited.

Move to New Line[edit]

However, as the scripts took shape, it became clear that the budget required would exceed Miramax's capabilities. The Weinsteins suggested cutting the project to one film.^[21] Jackson inquired whether it could be around four-hours in duration, but Miramax insisted on two hours, suggesting major cuts to the story, which Jackson refused. Harvey Weinstein threatened to replace Jackson with screenwriter Hossein Amini and directors John Madden or Quentin Tarantino. Jackson believes this was an empty threat to get him to concede to making a one-film version himself.^[23]

Harvey eventually relented to putting the project on a turnaround, but the onerous conditions were meant to prevent the project from being taken up by another studio.^[23] Jackson got an audience with New Line CEO Robert Shaye, who accepted the project, but requested that it be expanded into a trilogy. Final Cut rights were shared contractually between Jackson and Bob Shaye, but there was never any interference in Jackson's cut.

Production[edit]

Jackson began storyboarding and screenwriting the series with Christian Rivers, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens in and assigned his crew to begin designing Middle-earth at the same time.^[24] Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens did not write each film to correspond exactly to its respective book, opting instead to write a three-part adaptation with some sequences missing, some sequences created from scratch, and some sequences moved from one area to another regardless of its placement in the books. To allow the story to be clearer for viewers, Jackson takes a more chronological approach to the story than did Tolkien. During shooting, the screenplays continued to evolve, in part due to contributions from cast members looking to further explore their characters.^[25]

Earlier versions of the script included additional characters like Fatty Bolger, Glorfindel, Elladan, Elrohir, Erkenbrand, Imrahil and Forlong.^[26] At one point, Jackson even considered reintroducing Tom Bombadil in a cameo.^[27] Gimli was going to swear throughout the films, and Arwen would join the Fellowship in Rohan and share a nude scene with Aragorn in the pools of the Glittering Caves.^[28]

Jackson hired long-time collaborator Richard Taylor to lead Weta Workshop on five major design elements: armour, weapons, prosthetic makeup, creatures, and miniatures. At New Line's request, animation supervisor Jim Rygiel replaced Weta Digital's Mark Stetson. In November , famed Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe joined the project;^[25] most of the imagery in the films is based on their various illustrations,^[29] but Jackson also relied on the work of Ted Nasmith, who later had to turn down an offer to join Alan and John. Jackson wanted realistic designs in the style of historical epics rather than fantasy films, citing Braveheart as an inspiration:^{[30][31][32][33][34]}

"It might be clearer if I described it as an historical film. Something very different to Dark Crystal or Labyrinth. Imagine something like Braveheart, but with a little of the visual magic of Legend. []It should have the historical authority of Braveheart, rather than the meaningless fantasy mumbo-jumbo of Willow.^[35]

Production designerGrant Major was charged with the task of converting Lee and Howe's designs into architecture, creating models of the sets, while Dan Hennah worked as art director, scouting locations and organizing the building of sets. Ngilla Dickson collaborated with Richard Taylor on producing costumes, while Peter King and Peter Owen designed makeup and hair. Most of these crew members (and others) returned to work on The Hobbit.

Jackson and cinematographer Andrew Lesnie considered shooting in large-format like 65&#;mm film^[35][36]